


Kidnapped

by chali



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Hunk (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Team as Family, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 08:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16364429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chali/pseuds/chali
Summary: Hunk and Keith try to buy some scaultrite, but end up getting into some trouble instead when Hunk gets kidnapped.





	Kidnapped

By the time they found the bar that Coran had arranged the meeting at, Hunk and Keith were both drenched with sweat. They were on a desert planet, and maybe that wouldn't have been quite so terribly uncomfortable if Coran hadn't insisted on them wearing heavy coats, with hoods and gloves, and big boots - all part of their disguise, all meant to make them look 'inconspicuous'.

Hunk wondered if that word had meant something else on Altea. 

He fought the urge to cover his nose as he and Keith entered the dingy bar, ignoring the suspicious glares and low muttering from its other alien occupants. Keith looked around, squinting his eyes in the dim lighting after the bright sun from outside, and shook his head.

"I can't see him. He might not be here yet. We'll wait."

They walked to a table in the far corner of the room, and sat. Hunk tried not to fidget. If he fidgeted, he would look as nervous as he felt. If he looked as nervous as he felt, that would likely result in some trouble. 

"He should be here by now..." Keith muttered angrily.

"Yeah," was all Hunk said in response. They sat in tense silence again. The minutes passed. Keith bought them some drinks, so that they would look at least slightly less suspicious. It didn't seem to work.

When they had been waiting almost half an hour, Hunk stood. Keith looked at him sharply. 

"Gotta pee," he said quietly, and waited until Keith nodded reluctantly before stepping around the table towards what Hunk was hoping was the sign for 'toilet'. It led him to an alleyway, with a foul-smelling wooden stall at the far end of it. He sighed, and regretted it immediately when the repugnant stench filled his nostrils and nearly made him gag.

He relieved himself quickly, not wanting to leave Keith alone back there any more than he wanted to be alone in here.

He stepped out of the tiny wooden stall, and barely had time to register the presence behind him before he was on the ground.

He opened his mouth to yell, hand reaching for the small Altean gun concealed within his coat - Coran had said that their Paladin armour would be too recognisable, and could cause them some trouble. _Looks like I'm in a bit of trouble anyway, huh, Coran?_

He barely managed to pull it out before a massive hand grabbed his wrist and squeezed. His shout of pain was cut off by another hand clamping over his mouth and jaw, the grip on his arm tightening until the gun slipped from his grasp. He tried to buck the person off of him, but only managed a satisfying headbutt into the person's nose before the back of his own gun slammed into his temple. 

He was released, and tipped forwards onto his hands and knees, dizzily trying to stand. He blearily looked up, and saw the gun coming down again.

 _Ah, there are two of them_ , was his first thought. _Keith_ , was his last. 

* * *

Keith didn't realise he had been tapping his foot until the tiny, six-armed alien at the table next to his told him she would snap his leg in two if he didn't stop. He scoffed in response, but forced himself to sit still nonetheless. 

Their seller _still_ hadn't shown up. He was almost an hour late. Hunk hadn't returned from the toilet, either. Keith started tapping his gloved finger on the table. 

He had been debating with himself for the past fifteen minutes whether it was worth the risk of missing the buyer to go and check on Hunk, and had just decided that _hell yeah, it was, this guy is a no-show,_ when said no-show sauntered through the door, pinpointing Keith immediately and smirking at him.

Keith was immediately on edge. Something was off with this guy.

He tried to keep his expression neutral as the alien - taller than Hunk, muscular enough that he had seemed to fill the whole doorframe when he came - approached the table slowly, as though he wasn't almost an hour late for their meeting. Keith swallowed his derision.

Hunk still wasn't back. There wasn't anyone there to mend the situation if he fucks it up. He had to be careful. 

"So," the alien said in a slimy voice, " _you're_ my buyer. I thought there was meant to be two of you."

"He stepped away for a dobosh," Keith said tightly. "He'll be back. Do you have the scaultrite?" The alien's smirk widened.

"Ah, yes. About that," Keith felt his hand twitch towards his belt, where his knife was sheathed. "See, I'm afraid I'm going to have to, ah, up the price, just a little. Scaultrite is hard to come by, you know? It'll be five thousand GAC, now." Keith clenched his fists on the table, and couldn't hold back a scowl.

"That's more than _double_ the price we agreed on. I can't give you that. Two thousand GAC. No more." Coran had given them four thousand, just in case, but this guy didn't need to know that. The alien's smirk faded slightly.

"Five tho-"

"Tell you what," Keith cut across him, patience already worn thin. "I'll pay you three thousand. Take it or leave it. I'm not giving you anything more than that." The alien leaned back, and looked Keith up and down, tongue between his teeth. Finally, he huffed a laugh, and nodded once.

"I guess I'll take it, then." Keith's uneasiness only increased. _Too easy_.

He watched closely as the alien pulled his bag around from where it hung low on his hip, and rested it on the table before him. He opened the zip carefully, trying to keep the contents - most likely _very_ illegal - hidden. He didn't succeed. 

Keith was up and slamming the asshole's head on the table before the guy could lift his hand back out of the bag.

" _Hey_! Wha-" Keith's knife pressed to his throat cut him off. Keith leaned down so that his face was next to a pointed ear and _snarled_.

"Take that gun out of the bag and give it to me."

The alien growled at him, but obeyed when Keith only pressed the blade closer, drawing blood.

He laid Hunk's gun on the table.

Keith saw blood on the butt of it, and nearly slit the alien's throat right then and there. Instead, he lifted his head and slammed it down again, earning a pained growl.

"What did you do to him? Where is he? _Where is he?_ " He slammed the head down again, and the alien spit blood.

"Relax, would'ya? We didn't kill him-"

"Then where _is_ he?" The alien grit his teeth and glared at him, and Keith got ready to slam his head again when he felt cold metal at the back of his head. Without releasing his grip, he turned slowly to stare down the barrel of the gun being aimed at him by the bartender.

"Take it outside, fellas."

Keith glared at him, then at the alien pressed against the table. He growled, pocketed Hunk's gun, and hauled the man out the same door Hunk had gone through _almost_ _half an hour ago, damn it Keith, you should've known better_ -

He ignored the small puddle of blood at the far end of the alleyway, feeling vaguely ill, and slammed the alien against the wall instead, repositioning his knife against his throat before he got any ideas about fighting back. Keith knew that if he started to resist he would have to kill him. He wouldn't be able to go easy on a guy literally twice the size of him - nor would he want to, considering the fact that Hunk was _no longer here_.

"I'm only gonna ask you this _one_ more time," he growled. He had to reach up to press the knife closer, and he couldn't exactly get as in the guy's face as he had hoped to, but his tone seemed to say enough to make up for it. The alien gulped against his blade. "Where is my teammate?"

"Halfway to the Galra base by now." Keith felt a pit of dread forming in his stomach, his chest tightening.

"What Galra base?"

"It hasn't been here long, about two phoebs at most. North from here."

"Why would you take him there?"

"We're bounty hunters. The Paladins of Voltron have some of the highest bounties we've ever seen - and two just walked right into our hands." He smirked again, ignoring the blade held at his throat in Keith's hand, which was now trembling with barely contained rage. "You _really_ think we'd let you two go so easily? You're both gonna earn us a _lotta_ GACs..." and that was all the warning Keith got before his arms were wrenched behind him, another hand grabbing his hair and pulling it hard enough to tear at his scalp. He shouted and writhed, but couldn't escape the painful grip he was locked in.

The alien in front of him smirked, and spat, and rolled his shoulders. Then he reared back a fist and sunk it in Keith's stomach, making him gag. The next punch hit his chest, and before he could catch a breath another blow landed high on his cheek. He lost his footing, only remaining upright because of the grip of the alien behind him. He blinked away stars.

"Heh, not so tough now, are you?" The alien in front of him said. He spat again, in Keith's face. The alien holding Keith laughed mockingly.

"This kid really did a number on you, Grak. You losing your touch?" Grak growled and punched Keith again, snapping his head to his side. His mouth filled with blood, and he coughed, breathing raggedly.

"Shut up," Grak said, panting. "Couldn't kill him, could I? Apparently Zarkon's witch wants all the Paladins _alive_ , or we won't get paid. She didn't say _anything_ ," a knee to Keith's chest, "about them being _unharmed_ though, did she?" He punched Keith again, a blow to the head that nearly knocked him out, and he felt himself slide slightly out of the other alien's grasp. He knew wouldn't get another opportunity like this.

Roaring, he ripped the arm still wielding his knife free, twisted, and opened the throat of the alien restraining him. Grak cursed, and lunged at him. Keith swung out the way, stumbling slightly, and brought the knife back around, burying it to the hilt in Grak's back. The alien roared, and twisted, bringing Keith with him. He held tight, yanking the blade out and reaching around to draw it through Grak's throat.

Grak gurgled and collapsed, twitching. Keith stumbled back from the two dead bodies, and leaned against the wall, panting harshly. His face and torso burned with pain, and he wondered absently if his ribs were cracked. He looked at the green blood coating his hands, and at the two bodies lying a few steps away from him, and vomited. Every heave made his chest and ribs ache.

Finally, he composed himself. Then, dismissing the two dead aliens behind him, he ran in the direction of the street at the opposite end of the alleyway, removing his blood soaked gloves and pocketing them as he went. 

He emerged onto the quiet street, searching until he found an empty speeder. He ran to it, and using his bloody knife pried the control panel open. He remembered stealing Shiro's car back in the day, and vaguely remembered listening in on one of Hunk and Pidge's conversations about alien speeders and how similar they actually were to Earth vehicles.

It took him barely twenty seconds to get the speeder running. 

 _North_. That was what Grak had said. _North_. _What if he was lying?_ Keith didn't want to think about that. He drove north.

* * *

Hunk woke with a groan, muffled slightly against the dirty floor his face was pressed against. The floor which shook under him, jostling his already aching head. _I'm_ _moving_ , he realised distantly.

He opened his eyes slowly, and saw a pair of dusty boots next to his face. Following the boots upwards, he found himself looking into green eyes belonging to a vicious looking alien. 

Hunk tried to get his arms under him to push himself off of the floor, but found that he could barely feel them at all. Turning blearily he saw why: he had been bound, hands and feet wrapped in thick rope so tightly his circulation had been cut off. He groaned again and struggled into a seated position - immediately regretting his decision as the dull throb in his head sharpened to a sharp spike.

He leaned forward and vomited on the boots. 

Over the rushing in his ears he heard angry shouting, and through the tears in his eyes he saw the boots disappear. He wondered dazedly where they had gone, and found out the next moment as a sharp kick landed on his thigh. Through his cry of pain he heard a voice calling from the front of the vehicle. 

"... sure not to kill him... Haggar wants them alive..." 

 _Haggar. Oh god_. 

 _Them_. 

 _Keith_. 

"Wh-where-" he was kicked again in the back. He shouted, and spoke again, "where - 's K-Keith... Where..." 

A hand grabbed his hair and pulled, and found the alien's face right next to his, breath hot on his face. 

"Oh, don't you worry. The Red Paladin will be joining us shortly." Hunk barely registered the jolt of terror at the realisation that they had been found out, they had been _caught_ , before bile crept up his throat again, spraying out of his mouth and barely missing the alien crouched in front of him. 

"You little..." there was a rustle of fabric, and Hunk saw the alien pull something out of his pocket before pressing it to Hunk's sweat-soaked neck. Before he even had time to draw a frightened breath a button was pressed, and his muscles locked and twitched as burning pain shot through his body. His mouth opened in a silent scream. 

The alien held the taser to his neck for a few seconds longer before releasing it, finally allowing Hunk to take a shuddering breath  Through his sobs Hunk heard shouting. 

"... _told_ you not to kill him! We won't get paid-" 

"I wasn't _gonna_ kill him! But if I have to sit here and listen to any more of his whimpering-" he pressed the taser back to Hunk's throat, and he sobbed again in dread, "I just might." 

The button was pressed, and the last thing Hunk felt before losing consciousness again was _fire_. 

* * *

When Hunk woke again, he was alone. The stench of vomit and blood and sweat filled the space he was in, and he gagged on it, just barely managing not to throw up again. He heard voices outside, but couldn't make out what they were saying. 

He sat up as slowly and steadily as he could, taking note of the state he was in. He was definitely concussed, the pain and dizziness and vomiting assured him of that. He could feel the bruises where the alien had struck him. His throat, whenever he brought up his shaking hands to touch it, burned. 

 _Keith_.

He shook at the thought of them having their hands on Keith as well, and tried to reassure himself that the Red Paladin was far stronger than he was, strong enough to take care of himself. He wouldn't let them catch him. He'd take them out, then he'd return to the Castle and warn the others, and they'd form a rescue party and -

The door to the vehicle opened, and through the harsh sunlight that felt like daggers in his skull, Hunk saw the green-eyed alien that had beaten him so brutally. The alien grinned maliciously at him, before reaching in and hauling him out by his bound feet.

Hunk hit the dusty ground hard, and didn't have time to find his feet before he was dragged forward, by his hands this time, and set to kneel in front of a group of Galra soldiers. He gulped, and tried to pay attention to what was being said.

"... Paladin, as promised." The massive Galra that seemed to be in charge, carrying a large sword at either hip, looked at Hunk scathingly.

"You said you had _two_ Paladins of Voltron."

"Ah, yes, the other one is being brought to us as we speak."

"You won't be getting paid the agreed upon amount if there is only one Paladin-"

"The other one will _be_ here." The Galra curled his lip and walked over to Hunk, reaching out a clawed hand. Hunk panicked, and when the Galra was close enough, rammed his aching head forward.

He heard the crunch of bone, and a pained shout, and had a second to feel vaguely proud of himself before he was struck from behind. He sprawled forward, and landed face first in the dust. He coughed and made to sit up, when a gunshot rang through the clearing, and he landed heavily on the ground again.

He had always heard that after being shot, the pain takes a moment to register through the initial shock. He wondered if that was what was happening now, but when he turned his head to look at his injury, he found the green-eyed alien lying on top of him, blood oozing from the hole in his head. 

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before everyone exploded into action. More gunshots fired, and Hunk stared at the body on top of him, trying to make sense of whatever had just happened. Another body landed next to him, and he snapped out of his daze. He turned towards the fighting -

Keith. It was Keith. And he was _pissed_.

Hunk opened his mouth to say something, to call on his friend, but could only let it hang open in awe and horror as he watched Keith cut down the aliens and the Galra - Altean gun in one hand, his knife in the other, easily more than ten enemies - with terrifying brutality. He watched in shocked silence, until he saw the big Galra, the one with the swords, land a long slice along Keith's hip. Keith didn't notice.

"K-Keith!"

Keith kept fighting, even as another laceration appeared on his thigh, and another one high on his back. Finally he turned to the Galra, everyone else lying dead around them. The Galra roared, and charged, and Keith's shot landed in the middle of his chest. He barely stumbled, and tackled Keith around the middle, throwing them both to the ground beside Hunk.

" _Keith_! Hey, get off him-" the Galra knocked the knife out of Keith's hand and wrapped his clawed hands around Keith's throat, squeezing so hard that his arms shook. "Stop! Stop! _Please_ , _stop_!" Keith's face was turning red, eyes streaming, hand scrambling for the knife that was just out of his reach.

Hunk pulled himself forward as much as he could, and after an agonising few seconds, filled with pained gasps and gurgles and low growling from the Galra, was able to push the knife forward with his head, right into Keith's waiting hand.

The next second it was buried in the Galra's throat.

Keith removed the knife and scrambled out from under the dead Galra, coughing painfully. He stood, swaying, and made his way over to Hunk. 

"K-Keith, buddy - holy shit. Oh, _shit_. Are - are you okay? Dude, talk to me. You're freaking me out here, are you okay?" Keith was still coughing by the time he'd cut Hunk's hands free. He tried to stand again, but Hunk grabbed his shoulders and caught his gaze. He swallowed as he took in the battered state of the Red Paladin. " _God_ , Keith..."

"I'm fine," Keith's voice was hoarse, and Hunk saw him wince as he swallowed back another cough. "We need to go. There'll be more, and you need a pod-"

"Christ, Keith, _you_ need one more than _me_! Look at you! You - I don't think you even _realise_ how badly you're hurt right now-"

"Escape first, worry later." Keith stood somehow, and hauled Hunk to his feet, then walked back in the direction he had come from, picking up a dusty black bag. Hunk shook his head, tears burning his eyes, but nonetheless followed Keith to the truck-like vehicle he had been kidnapped in.

They were silent as Keith got the truck running, silent as he drove them back through the desert terrain to the old ship that Coran had given them to get here, silent as they finally, _finally_ got off the shitty planet Hunk wished they'd never been sent to. He sat in the back of the ship, Keith having glared at him when he offered to pilot.

He listened as Keith contacted the Castle. 

 _"Ah, Number Four - quiznack! What happened?_ "

"Yeah, our 'disguises' didn't exactly check out, Coran, they knew who we were almost immediately. Thanks for that."

" _Keith_ ," that was Shiro. " _Oh my god, what - are you okay? Is Hunk-"_

"I'm fine, Hunk isn't. He needs a pod-"

"We _both_ need pods," Hunk stood and moved forward until he entered the feed. Shiro looked as ready to vomit as Hunk felt, and Allura had a hand covering her mouth as she took in the battered state of her two Paladins. Coran was gone, likely already preparing the pods. "Keith is _way_ more banged up than me, have a pod waiting for him."

"Princess," Keith spoke through gritted teeth. "I have the scaultrite. We'll be back at the castle in thirty dobashes."

" _O-okay_..."

" _Keith_ -" Keith closed the transmission, cutting Shiro off. Hunk slumped down in the seat next to him.

"Keith, buddy," Keith didn't look at him, "you really need to - to rest. Let me pilot, I'll get us th-"

"I'm sorry, Hunk." Hunk blinked.

"Wh - you're _sorry_? What the hell for?"

"I shouldn't have - I let you get taken, I should've acted faster after you were gone for so long." Hunk shook his head.

"Keith, buddy, you _saved_ me. You - you're the only reason I'm not on my way to _Haggar_ right now. You-"

"I shouldn't have let you go off by yourself-"

"I'm the one who got taken out so easily! I'm the one who needs to be stronger! I almost got us both killed, Keith-"

"It wasn't your fault, Hunk-"

"It wasn't yours either!" They were both glaring at each other, panting harshly. Finally, Keith turned away, and Hunk moved back to where he had been sitting before.

He didn't want to argue. Not with Keith. Not right now, when they were both still sore and coming down from that rush of adrenaline, and they could say any number of harsh things that they didn't really mean.

The were both silent until they reached the Castle.

When they finally arrived, Lance and Pidge were upon Hunk almost immediately. Lance was in tears as he saw the dried blood on his face, the burns on his neck, the tear stains no doubt lining his dusty, bloody cheeks. Pidge hugged him tightly, but pulled back when she caught sight of Keith behind him, who was trying, and failing, to get Shiro to take the black bag to Allura and stop fussing over him.

Pidge looked at Keith with wide eyes, then looked back at Hunk. He nodded at her, and she hugged him again quickly before running to Keith's side. She took the bag from him and dumped it on the floor.

"Pidge!" She caught his wrist when he went to pick it back up again and draped his arm around her shoulders. Shiro quickly took his other side, and together they pulled him in the direction of the medbay.

Hunk watched them go, before Lance snapped his fingers in front of his face. He looked down into his friend's teary blue eyes. Lance smiled shakily at him.

"C'mon, buddy, there's a pod for you, too." Hunk nodded mutely, and tried not to lean too heavily on Lance as they followed the others.

Keith was already in a pod by the time he and Lance arrived. Coran clapped a hand gently on his shoulder and smiled when he walked over to his own pod.

"Will Keith be okay? He took a lot of hits..."

"You _both_ took a lot of hits, but you'll be fine. _Number Four_ will be fine. In you go, go on." Hunk cast one more look at Keith's battered and bloody body, then stepped into his own pod and surrendered himself to unconsciousness. 

* * *

Hunk emerged first, after a whole day in the pod. When he looked up at Keith it was to find the bruising that had decorated his face gone, but the deep purple around his neck had only faded to pale greens and yellows. He closed his eyes against the memory of Keith, trapped under that massive Galra, gurgling and gasping, face red, eyes bulging - 

"-unk! _Hunk_!" He jumped, and looked round again to see the other Paladins crouched worriedly in front of him. Shiro placed his human hand on Hunk's shoulder. 

"Hey, man. You okay?" Hunk nodded, and swallowed past the dryness in his throat. 

"H-how long?" Lance stood and walked away, and Pidge spoke. 

"You were in for a day, Keith will be in for maybe another one, two at most. He - the bruises on his throat were... severe. And he lost a lot of blood..." Shiro's hand shook and tightened on Hunk's shoulder, but when he spoke his voice was steady. 

"Hunk, go get showered and fed," Lance came back and held out a glass of water, which Hunk gratefully accepted. Shiro smiled at Lance before turning again to Hunk, "but then we need you to tell us what happened."

"Yeah," Lance piped up, scratchy voice indicating earlier tears. "Coran has been going _crazy_ , rambling on about false info and how he should've known better and - you just gotta tell him it wasn't his fault, or anything, y'know?" 

"Y-yeah," Hunk nodded. "Yeah, okay. But, uh, I really gotta pee first? And I kinda want to get out of these clothes-" 

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'll help you back to your room." 

"I'll cook you something up," Pidge said as Lance helped him stand, "but I can't make any promises about how edible it'll actually turn out." They all laughed tiredly. 

"I'll, uh," Shiro gestured vaguely at Keith's pod, "I'm gonna, stay here. For a while. I'll meet you guys later." Hunk nodded, and bit his lip. 

"Sh-Shiro, I'm-" 

"Hunk, if you say you're sorry, I _swear to god_ -" Shiro squeezed his lips together before he could finish, and they all looked at him with wide eyes. He sighed, and closed his eyes. "Whatever happened _wasn't_ your fault. You're both home safe, that's all that matters. Now go get cleaned up." He turned and slumped tiredly in the chair next to the pod. Hunk started to say more, but Lance pulled him away. 

As Lance led him back to his room, helped him out of his bloody clothes and got a shower started, Hunk felt the exhaustion setting in. Not just the typical post-pod exhaustion, but the bone-deep weariness and fear that accompanied surviving a mission gone wrong.

As he stood in the shower, letting the steaming water wash away the dust and blood and vomit from his body, he closed his eyes, and swayed, and tried to forget Keith's face.

His drawn, bruised face. His red, pained face. His savage, terrifying face. 

Hunk tried to forget about Keith's face, and relish the fact that he was alive, they were _both_ alive, just like Shiro said. 

He couldn't. 

When he emerged from the shower, Lance had laid clean clothes for him on a chair by the door, and was dozing on his bed. Hunk wondered how long he'd been showering for. 

When he was dressed, he hesitated in waking Lance, assuming he hadn't slept since he and Keith got back, but shook his shoulder anyway, knowing he'd want to hear about what had happened. Lance looked at him, showered and clean and himself again, and smiled, eyes shining. He took Hunk by the hand and led him to the kitchen. 

True to her word, Pidge's cooking was awful. Hunk ate every bite of it, and thanked her afterwards. Coran had entered the kitchen halfway through the meal, and had burst into dramatic tears when he caught sight of Hunk. He was sitting across from him now, calmer but still sniffling. 

Finally, Lance returned with Shiro, having gone to fetch him from the medbay. They all sat at the table, saying nothing, Shiro fidgeting in a way that indicated his desperation to return to Keith's side. It was that that made Hunk open his mouth and tell them haltingly what had happened. 

They didn't interrupt him, but listened with pale faces and shaky breathing. By the time he was finished, Pidge and Lance were crying too, and Shiro again looked ready to vomit. Instead, he stood and walked out the kitchen, not saying a word. No one stopped him. 

"It wasn't your fault, Coran," he said quietly.

"It wasn't yours either, Hunk," Coran said, quietly and more seriously than Hunk could remember ever hearing him speak. Hunk nodded, and smiled, and didn't believe him. 

* * *

When Keith finally did emerge from the pod, Hunk didn't even know, wasn't even there. He had gotten up in the middle of the night, having made the mistake of skipping dinner, and gone into the kitchen to heat up some leftover food goo. He'd found Keith seated at the table, still dripping from a shower, picking at his own rather meagre plate of goo. 

"Keith!" Keith shot up, banging his knees on the table and whirling round to look at Hunk with a hunted expression. His wide eyes lost some of their fright when they recognised him, but his body didn't lose any of its tension. 

"H-hey, Hunk," he said quietly. "I, uh. I wasn't - I didn't know you were awake. I was just-" he gestured weakly at the plate next to him, eyes flicking Hunk's face then away again quickly. Hunk tried to smile. 

"It's _so_ good to see you up, man, I was so worried. We all were. Actually, where's Shiro? I'd have thought he'd refuse to leave your side..." 

"He was asleep when I got out. Looked like he needed it. I didn't think I should wake him." Keith still hadn't sat back down. They both stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. 

"Keith, look-" 

"Hunk, I-" 

They stared at each other. Keith swallowed and nodded to him. 

"Keith. I know that we - what happened was unavoidable, neither of us could've known that it would happen. But I - I'm still _sorry_. If I hadn't gotten knocked out so easily, you wouldn't have gotten so badly hurt. So - I'm sorry." Keith shook his head. 

" _No_ , Hunk. Just - no. I should've stuck by you. I just - I _know_ that I'm not a good teammate, and I _know_ that I-" 

"Keith, what the _fuck_?" He looked at Hunk with wide eyes and a slack jaw, more shocked than Hunk had ever seen him. It was kind of endearing. 

"Keith, I saw you fight tooth and nail to save me, completely disregarding your own potentially life-threatening injuries. You somehow managed to track me down, save me, get us off the planet - _and_ get the scaultrite, which was the whole reason we were even there in the first place! Without you there, I would've been _toast_. So, you're _not_ a bad teammate, buddy. Not even close."

Keith cleared his throat, and looked down,  "Still. I should've been there."

"And _I_ should have fought harder. But all we can do for now is learn from our mistakes, so that a mess like this doesn't happen again." Keith nodded, and looked up at him, and finally gave him a small smile. Hunk grinned back, and clapped his hands together. 

"Right, well, I'm _starving_. And you've made yourself, like, a crumb. So I'm gonna cook us both up something good. Nope," he said when Keith looked ready to protest, "just sit there, and don't say anything, and wait for your food. Shiro is probably going to come running in any minute, and he'll kill me if I let you have that sorry excuse for a meal. Sit." Keith pouted and sat, crossing his arms.

Hunk got to work, leaving the leftovers for another night and making something new, something with those weird spices that they bought from that space market a few weeks ago that he knew Keith secretly _loved_ - 

"You're strong, Hunk." Keith's voice was quiet, almost lost in the noise of the kitchen. Hunk stopped what he was doing, but didn't turn. "I know you don't think that you are. But you're honestly one of the strongest people I've ever met. You _are_." Hunk swallowed, and blinked away tears, and nodded. 

When Shiro finally did come barrelling through the door almost thirty minutes later, finding them both hunched over their plates, Hunk was still smiling. 

**Author's Note:**

> Part 3 of Bad Things Happen Bingo! Prompt: Kidnapped. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Feel free to request another Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt on my Tumblr - cha-lii


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